Gary Johnson, the two-term Republican governor of New Mexico and twice nominated Libertarian Party presidential contender, is making his return to politics this Summer after leading the Libertarian Party to a historic record high voter turnout of over 4 million votes in 2016.
Johnson's campaign more than quadrupled the highest vote total the Libertarian Party had ever received for a presidential nominee, while the Republican and Democratic Parties both stalled at a twenty-year low.
That result was achieved with 1/1000th of the money the two major political parties spent.
Gary Johnson issued a statement to the libertarian magazine Reason, in which he announced his plans to mobilize "the largest grassroots army of liberty activists" in the nation.
Johnson cited a number of reasons, including:
- The endless Congressional boondoggle over federal health insurance policy;
- The unseemly rise of nationalism in the Republican Party;
- The nation's failed drug policy; and
- Overspending on military and entitlement programs.
He plans to return the non-profit Our America Initiative to advance the cause of less government and more individual freedom:
"It's time to stand up once again. That's why I am stepping back into the leadership of the Our America Initiative—a not-for-profit advocacy organization with activists in all 50 states working for the freedoms, opportunities and smaller government so many Americans crave." - Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson and strategist Ron Nielson launched Our America Initiative (OAI) in 2009 to advance this cause. The initiative defines the problem in American politics as one of increased pandering to partisan extremism.
"At a time when the news media, commentators and many special interest groups are determined to focus attention on political and policy extremes, a quiet but transformational shift is happening in America," the organization states.
"While those on the edges of the spectrum are becoming noisier and more strident, more and more Americans are actually rejecting those extremes, shedding political labels and embracing a simple idea: Less government and greater freedom." - Our America Initiative
And the solution is more freedom and independence from the costly and prohibitive governance of an overreaching federal system propped up by a never-ending partisan fight:
"The majority of Americans just want government to meet its fundamental responsibility to keep us safe, and to otherwise leave us alone to pursue our dreams, enjoy the freedoms the Founders envisioned, and go about our daily lives with minimal interference from politicians, bureaucrats and unnecessary laws." - Our America Initiative
OAI adds, "That’s why the real majority in America today are not choosing partisan labels, but label themselves as independents who simply want good government that spends less, does less and protects us from those who would do us harm."
A lifelong fitness fanatic, Johnson's return to politics this year will begin after he completes the grueling 2,800 bicycle race through the North American Rocky Mountains, a race that bills itself as "decidedly not for sprinters."
Governor Johnson has proven to be more than a sprinter both on the bike trail and on the campaign trail. Working with OAI again, he plans to return to political grassroots with that same energy and determination.